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More than 1.2 billion card purchases took place during the month, with nearly a fifth of all card payments made using contactless technology, the Association said.

The “tap and go” method of payment has grown in popularity in recent years as a convenient alternative to cash. The average contactless payment was £8.75 in July, up by £1.76 on July 2015. The trade assocation Payments UK has previously predicted that debit cards are set to overtake cash to be the UK’s most frequently-used payment method by 2021, boosted by the rise in contactless transactions.

Richard Koch, head of policy at The UK Cards Association said: “Consumers’ adoption of contactless continues apace, with the number of contactless payments jumping by a tenth in just one month. At over £2 billion, contactless spending in July was more than three times higher than the same period last year.”